While we were chatting with Sasha, she mentioned the work she’s doing with Max Shron at Polynumeral, their new data strategy consultancy. Now here’s the cool thing. I had just ordered Max Shron’s book, “Thinking with Data: How to Turn Information into Insights” for my dissertation research. I’m in the data analytics phase, and I’ve been looking at different methods and platforms for teasing insights from a mountain of data I’ve assembled on my topic. I love it when work and research collide like this.

I haven’t finished his book yet, but I offer a few tidbits. Before treasure hunting with data, scope out what you want. Most of us do the reverse. We throw analytic tools and processes at the data and wonder what we’ll find. “Starting with data, without first doing a lot of thinking, …is a short road to simple questions and unsurprising results. We don’t want unsurprising — we want knowledge” (Shron 2014: 1). I totally agree. My dissertation is all about knowledge creation. In fact, I’m looking at “Knowledge Alchemy through Collaborative Chaos.” Max states that our search for knowledge is sometimes filtered through a mental model of our own creation, while other times an algorithm can put the puzzle pieces together for us. “What concerns us in working with data is how to get as good a connection as possible between the observations we collect and the processes that shape our world (Shron 2014: 31).

While Big Data is the buzzword of choice these days in the IT world, I learned on my trip to NYC what a truly small data world we live in. The connections between us shape our observations of the world around us. So great to make new connections with awesome and inspiring leaders, and plug into the vibrant NYC data hive.

Yesterday, I drove to work, only to realize I left my iPhone and iPad charging on the kitchen table. Once I arrived at work, I entered the “unplugged” void — isolation from humanity.

Hubble image of supernova.

I logged on to my loaner laptop — my temporary replacement for the fried hard drive on my original laptop. The computer tech guys were coming soon to download email and docs onto the temporary laptop, so I hastily jotted down all my meeting times, call in numbers, and pass codes. I knew I was in trouble without my iPhone to remind me when meetings start and how to call-in.

The tech guys showed up and worked on my loaner laptop while I was on a call. They determined the laptop needed a bit more love, and asked if they could take it with them. I gave them the thumbs up — assuming I would get it back relatively quickly. Oh, the dashed hopes of the optimistically-inclined. Turns out, my loaner laptop had more issues than they anticipated. Looks like I’ll get it back Monday. That’s ok. I’m off work today (and I have access to my iPhone and iPad).

But, yesterday I didn’t! What a day to leave them at home.

I was forced to go old-school. My hand-scribbled notepaper calendar saved my day. But I was still flying blind. We’re so wired with our communications, that we generally log into a web-ex-ish meetings with a virtually-shared screen, OR we’re working off a document shared with everyone that we view on our own devices. Not me. I just listened and imagined what everyone was seeing. That’s ok. I have a vivid imagination.

My biggest issue: colleagues started calling me about urgent email they sent to me that I hadn’t acknowledged or responded to.

We’re in the day and age of never-ending data pile-on. Email artillery shoots back and forth in rapid fire, and decisions are made based on who responds first. Not responding or engaging is taken as tacit agreement, or indifference to the topic.

The silence was screaming at me — WHERE ARE YOU….WHY AREN’T YOU RESPONDING…DID YOU SEE THIS…SAY SOMETHING, WE’RE WAITING ON YOU…IF WE DON’T HEAR FROM YOU, WE’LL GO FORWARD!!!!!

“The Scream” by expressionist artist Edvard Munch

As bewildering as the Screaming Silence of being unplugged, the cacophony of voices in email can be just as disorienting. As much as I hated the unplugged isolation yesterday, I find myself longing for a day when the silence might actually bring peace and tranquility. Ah, maybe that’s what retirement is all about. Nope, not ready for it…yet. 😉

After seeing Doug Wheelock in action this week in Washington DC, I’d like to give him a new title: Space Ambassador! Doug, aka @Astro_Wheels, shared heartfelt stories of his time in space during our latest NASA Tweetup, March 16, 2011.

Doug and Tracy Caldwell Dyson came to DC to debrief NASA employees on their Space Station Expedition missions, visit with Members of Congress and Hill staffers, and talk with space tweeps. We haven’t convinced Tracy about tweeting yet, but we might just wear her down after all — now that Doug is a fervent social media convert.

Doug joined an auditorium-full of space tweeps at the NASA tweetup. He shared stories and answered questions for several hours. Then he stayed to sign autographs and pose for pictures until the last tweep left the building. Wow. What a guy!

Space Tweeps Surrounds Astro_Wheels

Doug gave them reason to stand in a long line for one-on-one time. During the Tweetup, he shared his awe and wonder about the vastness of space and the beauty of our home planet. He said that if he’d lived on another planet in the universe, Earth would have been the place he would most want to travel to.

In order to share his experience with those of us who will never leave this planet, he asked Mission Control for a camera lens and setting that most mimics what the human eye can see — so that he could let us see space through his eyes. But, he told us, no photo does the Cupola views any justice. The broad brush strokes of auroras captivated his attention, and many photos as well. I’m obsessed with auroras, so I’m glad he shared so many with us.

We learned details about life in space, like the violent ride to space on the Space Shuttle and the explosive return from space inside a Russian Soyuz. He described the smells of space: a musty odor like a wine cellar in the Russian modules, sterile computer-fan smell of the U.S. modules, and the burnt match smell of space that lingers on spacesuits for days. When asked how he felt after coming back to a gravity-filled life, he said he felt it most in his neck — from having to hold his head up.

Things break on Station, making life “interesting” off planet. Tracy told NASA employees earlier in the day that residents of Space Station don’t have the luxury of zipping over to Home Depot for supplies. Doug recounted the experience on July 31st when the Space Station ammonia pump shut down, and life slowly drained from the orbiting spacecraft. Working closely with Mission Control on a fix, Doug and Tracy saved Station through a series of unplanned space walks. Space walks are are extremely physically challenging. Even though everything floats in space, Newton’s Laws of Motion still apply. Doug told us the hardest part of working is space is learning to maneuver with a light touch, rather than a push.

Doug told us how his dreams changed using social media. Twitter allowed him to enter into a global conversation about space. Though he can’t take us all with him to space, social media tools allow him to bring us along for the virtual ride.

Doug encouraged all of us to nurture the dreams of our children. They are our future, after all.

Nick Skytland: Project Manager, Johnson Space Center. I first met Nick at the 2007 Participatory Exploration Summit that Space Operations Mission Directorate and Innovative Partnership Office sponsored out at Ames. Nick is another energetic creative visionary at NASA. He and Robbie have teamed together for multiple Gov 2.0 collaborative projects including CoLab, OpenNASA.com and Random Hacks of Kindness. Rumor has it that NASA astronauts consult Nick on how to use Twitter effectively — but you didn’t hear that from me. He’s the Powerpoint Communications King. With a few simple words and pictures, he makes clear how social media can change how we do business at NASA. For me, Nick’s main claim to fame was snagging the @NASA account back in 2007 and holding it until the agency was ready to adopt Twitter as a communications tool. Twitter: @skytland.

Chris Kemp, NASA Chief Technology Officer for IT at Ames. Indefatigable is the word that comes to mind for Chris. I met Chris at the same Communications workshop where I met Robbie. Chris is a whirlwind of change. Through Chris, our office collaborated with Microsoft to use it Photosynth as a tool to share our on-orbit mission images of the Space Station and Shuttle. He worked with Google to bring about Google Moon.He’s best known outside the agency as Mr. NASA Nebula for the cloud computing initiatives he’s championed. Twitter: @ChrisCKemp

I’m always on the lookout for game changers — ideas, technology, people.

Robbie, Nick and Chris are passionate, energetic change-agents. Through the last few years, these three guys really taught me a great deal about the endless possibilities for change that social media offers. We’re lucky to have them at NASA.

Astronaut Mike Massimino: Mike agreed to try out Twitter as the first astronaut to take social media in space with him during the STS-125 Hubble Repair Mission. He paved the way for all the other astronauts and many NASA folks to follow. Because of his thoughtful, poetic and often humorous tweets, he became a celebrity practically overnight. He has three times the followers the @NASA account does. He’s a Gov 2.0 hero because he caught the vision of social media and expanded to YouTube segments about space with his Behind the Scenes series. Twitter: @Astro_Mike

Astronaut Ron Garan: I met Ron through NASA’s LAUNCH:Water sustainability forum last March. Ron’s Manna Energy water filtration and carbon credit model was selected as one of the ten innovations to present to a group of 40 international thought leaders. What is amazing about Ron is his humility (remember that he’s an astronaut) and passion for making the world better for those who experience the inequities in access to food, water, and basic necessities of life. Through Manna Energy, Ron worked in Rwanda on his own time to bring clean water and sanitation to over 300 schools. Twitter: @MannaEnergy

“Since the Kyoto Protocol was established, only a very small percentage of the carbon market has benefited developing areas; with Africa seeing only 2.5%. We believe economic sustainability and large scale success can be born from an innovative development model that leverages the emerging global carbon credit market and integrates advances in renewable energy, water purification, and other renewable technologies into a comprehensive and compelling offering.” —Ron Garan, Director, Manna Energy Ltd.

But the story isn’t over. Ron is training for a six-month mission on Space Station beginning March 2011. He’ll launch on Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Right now, he’s in Star City, Russia training for his mission. His training is conducted in Russian. Next he trains in Japan. Then back to the Johnson Space Center. He’s my Gov 2.0 hero because he has an amazing vision for a unique interactive social media presence during his training and space travel. He wants to share space — virtually, AND shine a spotlight back on Earth and the needs on our planet. We’re working on pulling together a really cool virtual space place where we can all gather to celebrate his life off-planet, and projects that make life better for those living on-planet. Stay tuned for more details in the near future. Twitter: @Astro_Ron

Sean Herron, Syracuse student and NASA intern. Sean worked with me in the Space Operations Mission Directorate and Robbie on Open Gov issues. Sean is someone to keep watch for in the future. He is fluent in social media and helped shape NASA’s Open Gov Plan with Robbie Schingler. He started a blog on the NASA People site to offer insights on his experiences at NASA. He was our voice on the LAUNCH:Water twitter account, and so much more. Sean gives me hope for our future. I hope he goes on to get his graduate degree then comes back to NASA for a long and fruitful career. Twitter: @SeanHerron

Yes, I notice that I’m only highlighting men. We have a number of game-changing women in leadership in the IT arena, but I don’t travel in their circles. I hope others will celebrate their Hero-ness today, as I celebrate these Gov 2.0 Guys.

Thank you Robbie, Nick, Chris, Mike, Ron and Sean for leading the way to NASA’s future in the Social Space Frontier!

What a thrilling experience to witness a Space Shuttle launch. Even better to share it with 150 space tweeps from across the U.S and overseas. We just wrapped our STS-132 launch tweetup at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Many are still in Florida or in the process of traveling back home.

STS-132 Launch from Press Site. Credit: NASA

So hard to leave newfound space buds to come back home. And, who has time to process all the pics and videos when we’re all still tweeting about the experience?

I finally finished downloading all my iPhone pics last night after flying home yesterday afternoon. Mine are no match for the amazing pics I’ve seen from space tweets with high quality lens cameras. I quit taking my camera once I got the iPhone. I can at least capture memories with a device that fits in my pocket.

So what IS a tweetup? What’s the point?

Atlantis + my tweetup badge.

Two-part answer: For some, a tweetup is simply a time and place for digital colleagues to meet in flesh and blood. For NASA, a tweetup is an opportunity for us to grant space tweeps inside access to our aMAZing space people and projects.

You might consider it a Pay-It-Forward for tomorrow’s space endeavors.

We brought in a number of speakers to share insight into, expertise about, and EMOTIONS around the job we do at NASA. (Most notable for me: Chris Meinert, the last guy to shut the hatch on STS-132 crew. He choked up sharing thoughts about the STS-107 Columbia crew. Overwhelming moment for all of us in the tent.)

Launch day (or L-O) began with a group pic in front of the Countdown Clock. A number of tweeps missed the pic. Traffic is a bear on launch day. I made it just in time. Here’s another Where’s Waldo pic.

We also debuted a cool new social media aggregation tool called NASA Buzzroom. You can be part of the space conversation whether or not you have a Twitter account. OR, you can sign in through Twitter to keep the discussion going. Try it. See what you think.

Space Tweep Society Mascot inspecting new NASA Buzzroom

So, SO many tweeps asked how they could EVER repay NASA for the privilege of coming to the Tweetup.

For me, the answer is simple.

Keep the buzz going.

Sharethis amazing thing called space with all your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, school kids, elders and people you meet on the street.

Tell everyone who will listen about the stories you heard, what you saw, and how you felt during your visit to space wonderland, the Kennedy Space Center.

Come back for MORE space events as we evolve the social media space community.

How cool is the space biz, after all?Not geeky cool. Just plain cool!

I mean, look at what we do for a living. We break the bonds of gravity each time we lift off Earth. We’re learning to live and work in peace with multiple cultures and languages onboard the International Space Station 24/7 as it orbits the Earth at 17,500 mph every 90 minutes.

We solve problems AGAINST ALL ODDS!

Here’s one example of the payback NASA receives for hosting tweetups: space art by John @Apollo1 in New Jersey, who attended the STS-129 tweetup in November. This is WHY we host tweetups! Check it out!

Is hosting a Tweetup worth the effort? ABsoLUTEly!!!!

Here’s my little iPhone photo gallery from the tweetup. For those of you who attended, I had a great time meeting you (if we hadn’t already met)!!! You’re amazing! Thanks SO MUCH for caring enough to spend your own money to travel to Florida to spend two days with us. Godspeed as you journey home!

Are you someone who knows exactly what it takes to make NASA the best agency possible? Do you doodle ideas on cocktail napkins and mail them to a NASA Center? Do you wake up early in the morning to watch Space Shuttle launches (like this morning’s 4:14 a.m. EST STS-130 launch) or stay up all night for mission coverage of Space Station? Do you wish you could wear a NASA badge and sit in a cubicle somewhere in the bureaucratic maze at a NASA installation?

Have we got a job for you!

Get your creative juices flowing. Capture all your ideas. We’re listening. You have until March 19, 2010 to share your ideas with us about how NASA can be more:

Transparent,

Participatory,

Collaborative, and

Innovative.

OpenGov NASA idea sharing site

We’ve deployed a cool idea-sharing tool to let you give input, comment on input of others, and vote ideas up or down. Your ideas will feed into NASA’s Open Government Plan. You need an account first, but that’s as simple as adding your e-mail and a password.

Go ahead. Give it a try.

Submit an idea

And if you find any ideas by me in the system, feel free to give them a generous thumbs up! (I’m just getting started….)

OpenGov/NASA innovation idea

OpenGov/NASA People's Choice Award

“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” – John Gardner 1965

A funny thing happened to me in the NASA Headquarters lobby this week. I encountered a colleague I haven’t seen in a while. She posed this question:

What have you been doing with your life?

Innocent question on her part. My reaction: TILT!

My brain: Tilt!

The connections in my brain overloaded, then broke down. Total Loss of Signal — like when Mission Control can’t talk with the astronauts. When I snapped back, I realized I’d experienced a flash forward moment — a time in my life when I have absolutely NOTHING to do.

No deadlines, no distractions, nothing on my list. Utter bliss!

But to answer her question, one word escaped my lips, “Work.”

Atlantis crossing over Africa

In my mind, strobe-light images from the last few weeks danced in my head:

Seeing that she found my answer inconceivable, I asked what she’d been doing lately. After all, that was the real question, now wasn’t it? She listed Kennedy Center performances, trips with friends, volunteering for worthy organizations, and much much more. I listened to all the wonderful things she was doing and thought to myself,

I really, really want a day of nothing. Just plain nothing.

I think I even said that to her. It’s all a blur. I don’t recall her validating my desire for nothingness.

I get that I choose this frenetic life of mine.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. But, I can still dream about a simple time — my own personal Flash Forward Loss of Signal. A time when my internal Mission Control goes silent. No more things to do. All is quiet. Peace at last.

After a moment or two in this alternative universe, boredom would come for a visit, most likely. I would find myself daydreaming of new missions to accomplish.

Hmmm. We’ll probably never know, will we? But, for now, I better get busy. My list is long. This IS the Christmas season after all. No time to rest. 😉